Even in Death
by Aki Kochou
Summary: [Collab, Sequel to Imaginary] 12 years ago Yuuichihiro made a deal with the Darkness for his son. Yuuichihiro thought Netto would die...but now, the Darkling inside Netto intends something niether Yuuichihiro nor the Devil planned.
1. Prolouge

**Even in Death**

**Aki Kochou, AbeoUmbra, BloodyChaosDragonKnight, **

**Prolouge**

It started as a dream, like most things do. He was in absolute darkness; wind whipped at his clothes and tugged at his hair. Then an eerie calm came over the dark place, and a faint smell of brimstone entered the air. Slitted, glowing yellow eyes with red pupils appeared out of the darkness and hovered around the man.

**"I have held up my end of our...bargain...it is time that I take what is now...mine..."** A dark laugh echoed throughout the entire darkness.

The man, for that was who dreamed, cringed at the sound, his soul shuddering in this place- and the one before him.

"It's not time yet, it can't be!" He cried out against the voice.

**"It is...It is indeed time..."** Soft steps echoed towards the man and the eerie yellow and red eyes came closer.

"**I have kept your son's heart stable...and I have kept him alive...today would have been the day he would have died if not for me...-I- am the one keeping him alive...not you...not your science...not your doctors...I. And I can easily let him...heh...slip...with a single glance away...you wouldn't want that, now would you?"** A smirk could easily be heard in the being's terrible voice.

The man shuddered, and found in himself a strength of will to argue with the terrible devil before him.

"You can't take him from me! He is all I have!"

**"He will still be with you...is that not what you want...? And you yourself agreed to this bargain...will you back out now and give up your son's life?"**

"No...You knew he will not be that same, I did not know of that which is residing in him- which you planted!" The man yelled, and the anger of the beast rolled over him- and he felt it pulling at him, drowning him- consuming him.

**"That in itself is your son's fault...I had not planned on it becoming its own being...it was only intended originally as a way for me to measure his growth...not only did he lock it away...it seems some of my demons took a fond liking to him through those inventions of what you call 'modern day'. You instructed the doctors to implant a...what do you call them?...Ah yes...a...pacemaker, I believe...to keep his heart going in case of emergency...but a demon seems to have taken a liking to it..."** The being chuckled darkly. **"He has become melded with that machine and my own implant...and formed something else...something that I have no control over...Did I know he would be different? Yes...I knew. Perhaps a bit more cynical...but that should be a welcome change compared to the thick headedness he normally displays..."**

The man bristled, but felt the creatures intent- and knew he had lost- had never had a chance of winning.

"My own...doing?" The man whispered sadly...a single tear slid down his cheek, and the creature laughed- knowing it had won. The dream-place disappeared and the man awoke in his own world...

Somewhere in the world, a boy stirred- then slept on, and the Darkling locked within his soul awoke at its Master's Call.


	2. Chapter 1

**Even in Death**

**Aki Kochou, AbeoUmbra, BloodyChaosDragonKnight, **

**Chapter One**

**Warnings- Future Shounen-ai**

Rockman had been uneasy about Netto since two weeks back, when Dark Rockman had kidnapped his little brother and had done _something_ to him...

-------**Flash Back**-------

_Dark Rockman smirked as the dark aura flickered even more and started becoming solid. Suddenly, Dark Rockman let out a yell of surprise and pain as he was hit by a powerful buster shot._

_"What the-!" Dark Rockman's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of his "good" counterpart. "You..." he growled. But then, Dark Rockman smirked. He had the upper hand this time._

"_You're too late Rockman. Netto-kun has been reborn of the darkness…He's MINE now…" Dark Rockman had the pleasure of seeing Rockman's eyes widen in horror. Dark Rockman's smirk broadened._

"_I don't believe you!" Just then, Netto let out another pained scream as the dark aura flared to life, complete. The aura completely blocked Netto from the view of the two navis. Shock could easily be seen written all over Rockman's face._

"_Netto-kun…" He whispered, guilt slowly clenching at his heart. Finally, the dark aura started fading and both navis saw that Netto was standing up and his eyes were closed. Dark Rockman slowly walked over to Netto._

_Netto's eyes snapped open and both navis could see that his eyes were a strange mix of brown and red, that showed nothing but danger. Netto glanced at the approaching navi. Netto simply lifted a hand at Dark Rockman and suddenly, Dark Rockman was blown back._

"_Fool…he was not supposed to be aware of me until I was at full strength. Now you have made everyone here aware of my presence…and that makes my job that much harder. The boy's soul is to strong for me to integrate myself into right now…I can only take over for a short period of time. If you treasure your life, you won't try that again." Rockman wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing._

"_What do you mean? How is it that you exist? How can a human have a dark soul?" Rockman questioned. Netto's brown/red eyes focused upon his netnavi and a smirk slowly grew upon his face._

"_How do I exist? Simple, Rockman…every being holds darkness in their hearts. Then, it simply depends on the person. Haven't you ever noticed how Netto doesn't ever seem to change? Don't you think that there's a reason for that? Haven't you ever thought that maybe all you're seeing is what Netto wants you to see? A façade…" Rockman's eyes widened. Netto chuckled darkly. "That scares you, doesn't it? To think that everything you know about your outou-san is a lie. Just a suggestion for you. Watch his expression the next time he finds out his father is too busy to come home. Hm…now what was the other question?" Netto paused for a moment to think._

"_Oh yea! How can a human have a dark soul. But tell me Rockman…can a human have a cybernetic destiny bond with a navi? If it's cybernetic, does that not make him a human? But he looks like a human and acts like one. He can interact with other humans. So tell me, is Hikari Netto truly human? Oh well, he's starting to wake, so this is where I say my goodbye." Netto bowed mockingly. The dark aura flashed and then faded. When the dark aura faded, Netto collapsed. Rockman quickly ran forward and caught the brunette before he hit the ground._

"_Netto-kun!" A few moments later, Netto opened his eyes, and to Rockman's relief, his eyes were their normal chocolate brown._

"_Nng….what happened?" Rockman started explaining what had happened, excluding the conversation that Rockman had had with Netto's darker side. Dark Rockman watched the pair silently. He had failed this time, but he would not fail next time. Dark Rockman vanished from the dream world, and the dream world fell apart._

-------**End Flash Back**-------

So Rockman had done the only _logical_ thing -contacted their father and told him about the Dark-Netto.

-------**Flash Back**-------

_Rockman swallowed his nervousness and prepared to deliver his news- it wasn't good news, and he hoped Yuuichihiro would believe him…After explaining what he had seen to his father, there was a silence- until Rockman broke it. _

"_Father?" Rockman called, Yuuichihiro had been running diagnostics on the navi gear all afternoon, trying to pinpoint what exactly Rockman had seen. None the less when his son called his name, he paused, and turned to Rockman._

"_Yes?" Yuuichihiro prompted seeing Rockman hesitate. _

"_Will Netto be alright?" Rockman asked, Yuuichihiro's indrawn breath did not promise reassurance. "I don't know- I can't find any signs of what you said happened. Either you didn't see what you saw- and its false memories…or…" _

"_Or?" Rockman turned to stare into his Father's eyes._

"_You did see Netto's dark side- and it did something to erase all evidence of what occurred." Neither said anything further- and nothing at all was said until Netto came to collect Rockman. _

-------**End Flash Back**-------

Banishing his troubling memories from his mind (for now), Rockman turned the navi to 'sleep' mode, and dreamed …

------- _POV Shift_ -------

Deep within Hikari Netto's sleeping mind, the darkling or Otten as he called himself, awoke. Opening one slitted eye he glanced around the room, taking careful notice of the PET on the desk. The screen was dark, meaning that the navi inside was asleep and he was free to play.

Otten grinned, it wasn't a pleasant expression, and he stretched- enjoying being in control for the first time since the incident with Dark Rockman. Otten glanced at the mirror that hung in Netto's room- other then the slitted eyes, his appearance was Netto's. He glanced to the window- and without alerting the navi opened it- enjoying for a moment the cool breeze and without further ado - left the room.

He landed gracefully on the sidewalk below, scanning the area for a potential plaything. There was nothing of interest in the area, only a bunch of houses with weaklings inside. Otten snorted and called up Netto's memories, looking for something of interest.

The image of a shop, filled with jewelry and other valuable objects appeared. A smirk appeared on his face as he ransacked through the sleeping boys mind for directions.

The shop was where Netto knew it would be, and Otten approached, gathering the shadows around him. His eyes on the sparking things he used the power of the darkness he was to go through the door of the shop- and used the cybernetic connection Netto shared with Rockman to disable alarms and cameras. Otten, for the sheer joy of it, broke the glass of the case- in which resided a necklace he liked the look of.

Carefully avoiding the glass shards, he removed the necklace, along with several other pieces of jewelry and placed it into his pocket. With a sneer he looked around the room for anything else that might catch his eye, he couldn't take too much or his host would get suspicious if he found it lying around. He grabbed a few more items (a sparkly ring, a bracelet, and a few necklaces that attracted his attention) and left the shop, turning the cameras and alarms back on when he was a safe distance away.

Otten licked his lips, think of what fun it would be to play and torment the computers of Netto's rival (or friend)...He walked a short distance to a telephone pole- and let the cybernetic link tap him into the computer systems, and after searching for and finding what he wanted he placed his power into controlling it...

Enzan blinked awake as the telephone in his bedroom rang. Glancing at the clock he swore, wondering who would be calling at this ungodly hour of the night and groggily reached for the phone.

"This had better be important." He growled into the reciever, noticing that the screen was grey with the words unusable signal written across. He blinked as a voice hissed through the receiver.

"Hello boy, I've got something you want..." Otten hissed, meaning Netto- but knowing that he could get something else if Enzan didn't cooperate. Otten had changed his voice - and grinned when he heard the indrawn breath.

"Can you guess what it is?" Otten purred, loving to torment the boy...

"Who are you?" Enzan demanded, glaring at the phone. Blue's screen flickered on, the red navi appearing in the PET. Enzan made a signal for the navi to trace the call. "What do you want?" He said in a much calmer voice.

"What do I want?" Otten asked, leaning against the telephone pole as he smirked. "I think the question is, what do you want?"

Enzan kept a handle on his temper and ran through everything mentally- what could be so important someone would want to brag about it at one in the morning? His company was secure- Blues would warn him if it wasn't. Enzan typed a short message to open the security cameras on his friends- something he had done without their knowing- for their own safety.

He clicked first on Netto's name, the window opening up to show the brunet's empty bedroom, curtains fluttering in the wind coming through the open window. He blinked and rewound it a few minutes, praying Netto had simply got up to go to the bathroom, only to catch an image of Netto opening the window and jumping out. Rewinding it again and freezing the image he noticed that Netto's eyes odd, looked , as though there was someone else in Netto's body.

"What did you do to him?" He snarled, barely even noticing the beep that announced that Blues had finished tracing the call.

"Ah-ah-ah, you are a rude one aren't you? Well you'll just have to wait..." Otten laughed, and disconnected from Enzan's phone. During the conversation Netto had stirred, and Otten hummed to calm him...

Picking a lullaby from Netto's memories, he started to sing as he walked away from the pole, towards Netto's house. He was surprised however, when Enzan came hurtling around the corner at topspeed, PET in hand. Knowing that now was not the time for a confrontation, especially with Netto so close to waking, he ran away. The dual-haired boy following, hot on his heels in pursuit.

Enzan had a moment to wonder why Netto was running away from him- then he remembered those eyes. If Netto wasn't himself- and with his sensitivity to the cybernetic world...Netto was probably being controlled. He shuddered- and pressed on, quickly gaining on 'Netto'.

When it looked like 'Netto' was about to get away- Enzan leaped and caught him- as they both fell to the ground, Enzan felt a moment of pity for Netto, then shoved it aside. He straddled his friends waist, trying not to think of his position- or Netto's vulnerability. 'Netto' struggled under him, snarling and the slitted eyes narrowed in anger.

"Who are you?" Enzan demanded.

Otten noticed Enzan's reaction to his host- and smirked, leaning up to breath against Enzan's neck, and whisper in his ear. "Anything you like..." Otten, not giving Enzan time to react - kissed him hard on the mouth, and pushed him away, running off while Enzan sat still- frozen with shock and the rush of emotions caused by the kiss.

Otten ran, zigzagging around buildings and trees as he ran at full speed, praying that he had got enough distance between him and the dual-haired boy before the other came to his senses. He came to a stop, panting hard as he glanced around. Too tired to even make an attempt to return home he collapsed on a nearby park bench, curling in on himself to stay warm.

-----------------------

**Aki Kochou would like to point out here that she has a fanfiction challenge up for all people. Check out her livejournal (link under homepage in profile) for more information on rules and guidelines.**

_**And from all three Authoresses: Please Read and Review! Reviews will make us work harder to update quicker.**_


	3. Chapter 2

**Even in Death  
Aki Kochou, AbeoUmbra, BloodyChaosDragonKnight  
Chapter Two**

Netto stretched and reached for his blanket, for the air felt chilled. Leaning too far off the bench Netto let out an un-manly squeak and fell to the grass below. Netto shook his head and winced at the now-forming bump on the head. The last time he checked, he could have SWORN that he had a carpeted floor, not a...grass...floor...

Realizing that something was incredibly wrong (namely the lack of his room; the addictions of a park...) Netto stood slowly looking around. Dawn was just creeping through the trees overhead, and cast sinister shadows upon the grass he stood barefoot upon.

The park was empty, seemingly soulless but for him. Netto blinked in shock.

"How on earth did I get in the park?" For some reason, he knew that this should be bothering him more than it really was, but for some strange reason, he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Very strange..." He muttered, shook his head, and then slowly made his way back to his house.

No one troubled him in the early morning hour, he was sure most sane people were still sleeping, warm, in there beds. When he reached his house, he decided to avoid awkward questions and using a garden ladder he climbed to the second story window- and into his room.

Blinking sleepily he crawled back into bed, it was 4 AM, he had three hours till he had to get up.

However, Netto had just one obstacle to overcome before he could fall into the warm, dark embrace of sleep. Namely, his own netnavi; Rockman stirred at the noise and opened his eyes and then stared at Netto.

"Netto-kun...where have you been?"

Netto sighed, the last thing he wanted to do right now was explain him self, seeing as he had little idea to where he had been.

"I don't quite know Rockman...maybe I was sleepwalking?" Rockman raised an eyebrow.

"Sleep walking, Netto-kun? I highly doubt that..." Netto raised his hands sleepily.

"I have no idea, ok, Rockman? I fell asleep here and then just woke up in the park! Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to sleep..." Netto grabbed his nice, warm blankets, tugged at them so they covered his body and laid down, his back to Rockman and the computer screen.

He didn't see Rockman's surprised expression; for when Netto had gotten angery, his warm brown eyes had flashed red.

The morning was hectic, Rockman claimed he had 'forgotten' to set the alarm, and Netto had waked late. With no time to eat- let alone shower or bush his teeth, he threw on some clothes, grabbed Rockman, and rushed to school.

Once again, like any other day, Mariko-sensei was none too pleased about Netto's tardiness.

"Netto, you need to learn to be on time! I'm afraid I have to give you detention...stay after school to serve it..." Mariko-sensei turned away from Netto to the board, ignoring most of the classes' stifled giggles, and Dekao's loud guffaws.

"Haha, Netto, you got sunk!" The sound he made was his idea of a stifled chuckle, but in truth, it sounded more of a lawn mower trying to start. Netto simply grumbled and took his seat.

Netto couldn't seem to keep his mind on the lesson, which was bad since mid-terms were approaching quickly. His thoughts kept wandering back to why he had woken up in the park, had aliens abducted him?

Had he really sleep-walked?

He pushed the annoyance and barely contained anger he felt at Rockman and Dekao as not getting enough sleep.

Meanwhile, Rockman watched worriedly from his PET. He saw a lot of things, by being quiet inside his PET. He could watch other people's expressions and could tell their feelings by watching their body language and their emotions. Though with some people, he didn't need to think too hard about it because they would naturally wear their emotions on their sleeves.

Netto was one such example.

Netto's body was tense and stiff. He gripped his pencil tightly, exposing white knuckles. However, his eyes spoke the loudest and Rockman could tell that Netto was angry -maybe at him, and more than likely at Dekao as well. Even perhaps at Mariko-sensei for giving him a detention. Netto was always very touchy when he was tired. Always.

Netto kept a tight grip on his emotions throughout class, and by the end of it, thought that maybe- just maybe, he could get though the day without having to make apologies the next day.

Dekao mid-way though class had decided to take advantage of Netto's friendship and use Netto's notes (since he hadn't been paying attention either) and was to be sorely...upset...that Netto had taken no notes for him to 'borrow'.

Of course, that only served to make Netto even more angry. As he stomped on his way to Japanese Literature, he grumbled to himself.

"Damn that Dekao...I just wish he would just leave and never bother me again!" Thank goodness that Dekao was in ESL right now...Netto didn't think he could be in the same class with the idiot and not want to strangle him. Oh wait, he already did want to strangle him.

Only by nearly biting through his lip did he make it though school without getting an even bigger detention. After staying after for an hour and a half (and he had barely been late five minutes!) Netto had gone from showing his anger outright to seething in an icy rage at the whole world- but mostly at Dekao, who had expected him to take notes for him.

He was no ones' slave...

_'That's right...you're not...'_ A different part of his brain seemed to whisper to him._ 'You are stronger than him...you can show it too...just walk home without talking to him...even just that will prove it...' _Netto had to admit, his conscious, which sounded remarkably like Rockman, had a very good point. He didn't have to yell or fight Dekao to be stronger than the bully.

_'Things will work themselves out...'_ Netto thought to himself, or perhaps his consious whispered to him, he wasn't quite sure. Either way, he walked home, his emotions carefully guarded and avoiding anyone who tried to come near him.

Rockman watched in worry as after dinner (which had been deathy-silent) Netto did his homework in silence, and without even saying good-night to him, or his parents, went to sleep.

That night, Netto dreamed. And no, these were not normal dreams of flying or of swimming. They were not the dreams that one had of one's lover. It was a dream of blood. He was standing in it; it was flowing over him, dripping through his hair. Netto shuddered in horror and wanted to scream. This was terrible, terrible...

_'Is it though?'_ A warm, soothing voice spoke through the darkness.

'_Is it terrible...this is the blood of those who have hurt you, Netto-kun...they deserved nothing less...dance! For these people can never hurt you or your family again!'_

"No!" Netto shouted into the darkness, only to gag as blood tried to flow into his mouth. Desperately, he wiped the dripping blood away from his face and mouth and spoke again. "No, this is terrible! No one should be killed! They can pay for their crimes in jail!"

_'But what about those who haven't committed any crimes that your society would recognize as such?'_ The voice answered, eternally steady, never swaying. The voice...Netto could concentrate only on it. Such a smooth, confidence shone in that voice. Confidence and grace that Netto knew he himself could never possess.

'_What about the people who have hurt you, not physically, but through words? Through actions...they have harmed you, Netto-kun...they have hurt you...and you have felt pain...should they not pay for them?' _A cool sensation trailed down Netto's cheek and at first he thought it was blood, but no...he soon realized that it was a hand, gently stroking Netto's cheek from behind. Netto was curious, but found he could not move, nor did he want to as the arms gently encircled him.

_'Say the word, Netto-kun...anyone who hurts you...tell me their name...and they will regret it...they will never harm you again...I promise...'_

The world started fading, and spinning around him and just before his dream world collapsed, he heard words that chilled him to the bone.

_'You look beautiful in blood...'_

That night Enzan kept his eyes on the video monitors of Netto's room, and sure enough, the red-eyed stranger that possessed his friend's body awoke and left though the window. This time around he returned before nightfall in all his crimson eyed glory- what chilled Enzan to the bone was the sight of a blood red smear across each of his cheeks.


	4. Chapter 3

**Even in Death**

"Why hasn't Dekao gotten up yet?" His mother remarked, staring worriedly at the stairs. She looked at her husband, concern showing in her eyes.

"Do you think he might be sick... usually when I start cooking he comes running down the stairs..." Dekao's father, tired of waiting for his son to get up, (because his wife refused to serve breakfast unless all of the family was awake to enjoy it- normally that wasn't a problem, but today it seemed like it would be) stood and made his way up the stairs.

His wife stood at the foot of the stairs, watching anxiously as he climbed the stairs and made his way towards Dekao's room. He opened the door and instantly paled, covering his mouth before he could let out an unmanly shriek. He looked at his wife, turning green.

Seeing his expression she quickly ascended the staircase and saw Dekao's mangled body, with bits of flesh peeled off, the wounds painfully shallow or going as deep as the bone. His bulging eyes were glazed in death, and his lips had been sown shut. Dekao's mother gave a whimper and he could only hold her as she sobbed and screamed out her pain.

When she was composed they called the police.

-----

Netto awoke to the bleeps of his navi. He felt relieved, because the dreams had been disturbing to say the least. All that blood. Netto shuddered and felt the sudden urge to get clean; he showered, scrubbing his skin till it turned pink.

Netto took Rockman silently to breakfast, his mother kissed him good-bye, and as his father was still in his labs- Netto merely left without saying good-bye to him. Netto hurried to school, a feeling of dread crawling up his spine as though something bad was about to happen.

He just knew he was going to be late to class...

He arrived in the classroom and was shocked by the eerie quietness of the room. A few students looked sad, one or two of the more emotional girls had tears in their eyes but most looked smug and pleased.

"What happened?" He asked, glancing around the room. His gaze landed on the teacher who looked very upset.

Mariko-sensei looked up at him, her eyes were red, and it looked as if she had been crying.

"Oh Netto-san, I'm so sorry, Dekao-san was your friend wasn't he?" Netto felt a cold chill crawl over his skin, he nodded his eyes wide.

"Oh, Netto-san, I don't know how to tell you any other way...Dekao-san was murdered last night..." Mariko-sensei explained; Netto mutely shook his head in disbelief. He had dreamed of blood last night and now this...

"Humph, who really cares if he's dead...The fat bastard deserved it." One of the other students, a boy Netto was unfamiliar with remarked coldly, snorting and looking away. Netto looked at the ground, feeling horrible because a part of him agreed.

"How can you say that?" Another student, a girl and obviously the boy's friend shouted, tears running down her face.

Mariko-sensei's eyes narrowed angrily at the boy.

"Get out of my classroom, right now! Have some respect for the dead!" Mariko-sensei yelled, tears in her eyes.

"Yes, Mariko-sensei." The boy snorted, bowed mockingly, and left. A part of Netto wanted to do the same. Mariko-sensei must have seen that, as her eyes softened.

"Would you like to go home for the day Netto-san?" Netto shook his head, the class went silent- and a subdued lesson on 16th century literature was haltingly recited.

-----

After classes, Netto walked out of the school building, his heart down in his stomach. A snake of grief wrapped itself around his stomach and squeezed, painfully. He now felt so terrible...he knew that it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but wish he had never even _THOUGHT_ about Dekao dying yesterday.

I guess the old saying was true: _'Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it'_. And boy, Netto wished that he hadn't gotten his wish granted.

Inside Netto, Otten stirred, he felt Netto's depression- his grief, Otten did not like his 'light' to feel such things. Otten had killed Dekao on a whim, merely because he had upset Netto, now Otten reached for control, he would put this right- for his light.

Netto's brown eyes faded, replaced by ruby orbs. Unnoticed by demon or boy, _someone_ had seen that change...

And that very same person was trailing Otten at this very moment. Otten of course, sensed this person immediately and smirked. He knew who it was and recognized the person. He would have fun messing with this person's head.

Otten cackled mentally and immediately ceased when he felt his light stirring inside their mind. No, it wouldn't do to have his light wake up already. He was just beginning to have his fun.

Otten, as a piece of the darkness, knew things that no human could. As such, he knew where to find information on the ritual of bringing souls (particularly Dekao's soul) into Netto's dreams- without his light being at risk of going mad.

Otten only needed to gather supplies tonight, when Netto would be asleep, then Otten would let his light say his final good-bye (and hopefully his grief would lesson with this) to his 'friend', and Otten, in turn, could ensure his lights safety- of both mind and soul.

Now, what were the supplies again? _A branch of a willow tree, mint, and incense made from Juniper bark, thyme and a knife...Now where could he find even half of those herbs? And it's not like Juniper incense was a common thing. But tonight was the new moon, the perfect time to perform such a ritual...It had to be tonight_. For now, Otten could ignore the stalker...or he could play with him and then head off to find the ingredients...hmm...what a decision...

Otten was not one to pass up an opportunity to torment his stalker, so he decided to _play_- but not before ordering the shadows to gather those ingredients for him, sending them in the proper directions. Otten posed, his back against the wall, his arms stretched above his head, back arched, a very suggesting pose for submissiveness.

As Otten had predicted, no matter if his stalker knew this lovely body wasn't his- they could not resist proving dominance over the newly discovered Darkling.

Enzan appeared out of the shadows Otten knew he had hidden in. Enzan was quick to do as Otten had predicted he would - he forcefully held Otten's hands above his head, moving in so close Enzan's breath brushed against Otten's ears and neck.

"Evening, pretty boy, have you come back for more kisses?" Otten purred, licking the side of a shocked Enzan's face. Otten pressed himself against Enzan, boldly- feeling the beginnings of the other boy's erection, enjoying the hitch in the older boy's breathing- the blush against his pale skin, and the absolute fury in his pale eyes.

"What are you doing with his body?" Enzan demanded in a rough tone- not all of it due to anger- Otten smirked, and Enzan tensed knowing the other was going to do something. Otten let him self relax- he lowed his eyes, and let his hair sweep over and the shadows hide them.

"The real question, boy, is what are _you_ doing to _his_ body." Otten whispered, pressing his hardening fresh against Enzan's knee. Enzan narrowed his eyes- Otten, who looked so much like Netto, was playing with him, Enzan swallowed. And reminded himself firmly that this, this, _monster_, was not Netto.

"Stop playing games monster, your not him, I don't lo ---…" Enzan paused, and took a breath, ignoring the monster's smug expression. "Don't what pretty boy? Love me?" Enzan hissed, stung, he hadn't meant to let that slip. "Don't worry, I don't love you- and my light doesn't even know about your _feelings_." Otten stated, smug.

Enzan, however, hurt- he had gone after the monster for answers, not to be teased and humiliated. The monster had found buttons to press that Enzan hadn't known about- and he had been pushed to the limits by the monster wearing his friend's body. Enzan calmed himself- mush to the monsters surprise.

"What did you do to Dekao- I know you killed him. Why would you do that to Netto! Are you trying to kill him?" Enzan asked, and Otten jerked back- it was Otten's turn to be hurt- and Enzan had dug deep into what passed for the 'monsters' heart. Enzan was surprised at the dulling ruby eyes; Otten had had enough of his own game. Play time was over.

Otten gathered the shadows, and used them to trip the other boy- Enzan fell back, and Otten with him. Otten straddled the others waist, and learned down- Otten's lips brushing against Enzan's lips as he spoke.

"I killed him. You'll never know how much I regret hurting my light; but it had to be done." Otten's soft lips pressed against the side of Enzan's neck and trailed a few scattered kisses, nuzzling the soft- vulnerable skin there, until Otten reached Enzan's cheek. Enzan lay tensed under him- fearing for his life.

"Good night, pretty boy." Otten whispered, and gathering the shadows of a newly fallen night, he transported himself away- to the park he had spent the first night in.

As Enzan lay there, dazed, he slowly sat up, pondering the monsters words…

"Why did it have to be done?" Enzan whispered, then stood, and slowly made his way home- wondering at what he had felt at the 'monsters' touch- and why had the ruby eyed demon spoken to him in what seemed to be the so earnestly spoken truth?

-----

The shadows had done their jobs well, everything necessary was gathered near at hand. Otten dug into the soft earth, making it into a bowl-shape. He lined the bottom of with mint, to call Dekao, for newly dead spirits were fond of sweets. Otten didn't think death would have changed Dekao's liking for sweets. Otten took the three sticks of Juniper bark incense, the liquefied thyme and lit them.

Otten fingered the knife, this was a innocent summoning of a spirit- until he called it with the blood of its murderer, and spoke the spirit's name- then he would have to maintain constant control, Otten narrowed his eyes. He was a demon, the day he feared a mortal's spirit, was the day he foreboded his own power.

With a quick thrust onto his arm, Otten's blood pooled onto the willow branch. Otten lit it on fire, and placed it atop the thyme and increase, and spoke aloud the spirit- Dakeo's name.

"Dakeo." He whispered, for hovering over the flaming pit in the earth, Dekao, a shimmering orb of colors, appeared.

Otten led the spirit of Netto's dead friend into Netto's mind- his dreams. Netto dreamed of a more corrupt and twisted dream then the night before, when Otten had lost himself in blood-lust. Dekao, a shimmering orb of colors, seemed to fade in the face of Netto's nightmare.

It would be familiar for him- this would '_remind'_ him of how he had died at Otten's hand. The shimmering orb of colors gradually shifted and a body replicating his former one was formed.

"Netto!" Dekao yelled and almost instantly, the nightmare paused and then shattered into a thousand mirror shards and dissipated into nothingness, leaving Netto standing with his eyes closed and tears running down his cheeks. Dekao ran over to Netto and wrapped an arm around the chocolate haired boy. In death, Dekao had learned that not everything had to revolve around pride and power. Especially in cases like these, pride would only get in the way. Anyways, the very notion of "guy comforting guy makes them both gay" was ridiculous.

"Netto..." Netto finally took notice of the person who had wrapped an arm around his shoulder and his eyes widened in shock.

"Dekao...it's...it's you...?" Dekao simply nodded. Netto took a deep breath and calmed himself down

"Don't worry, Netto...I don't blame you." Dekao said, his voice boisterous as always, but this time, his body language suggested that he was thinking of Netto instead of just himself.

"Who...who was the one who..." Netto trailed off, trying to think of a way to phrase his question without sounding too rude.

"Killed me?" Netto slowly nodded.

"Yea..." Dekao huffed softly.

"I think he called himself Ot-"

Dekao disappeared. Netto's eyes widened in shock.

"Dekao! Dekao!" However, Netto was too late. There was no sign of Dekao anywhere.

-----

Otten stood over the smoking remains of the fire that had been burning brightly a few seconds ago. He shoved the soil he had used to dig it out, back into the hole and the smoke quickly dissipated. He started walking back towards his light's home and briefly glanced at where the summoning had taken place.

"Sorry, my light...but this must be done...you got what you wanted...and I got what I wanted...And that is how it will remain." Metallic, cybernetic wings sprouted from Otten's back as he jumped into the sky and soared along, the full moon shining on him as he flew back to his light's home.

'_Maybe someday I'll allow you to know who did this...but for now...what's done is done..._'

-----

Netto fell back limply as he realized that Dekao wasn't going to be coming back. His hand tightened into a fist and his teeth were clenched tightly. So close...he was so close to finding Dekao's murderer...soon though...he would make sure that he found the murderer and brough him or her to justice.

"I swear to you, Dekao...I won't let them get away with this... I'll avenge you, Dekao! It's a promise!" He exclaimed into the darkness of his mind.

"How very, very sweet..." Netto froze as a familiar voice drifted across his mind and dream. A cool finger trailed down the back of his neck, which sparked a shiver that went down his entire spine. Arms wrapped around his body, pinning Netto's arms to his sides and making sure that Netto couldn't escape. Hot breath tickled the back of Netto's neck and then moved so that the breath was on his ear, creating yet another shiver, this time of his entire body.

"You're mine, Netto-kun..." Netto stifled a moan of pain and pleasure as teeth bit down on his earlobe and moved down to his neck, to play with the sensitive skin there.

"...Dark Rockman..." Netto whispered in horror.


End file.
